Conservation Leadership Programme announces 2014 conservation awards

By Martin Fowlie, Wed, 09/04/2014 - 09:37

The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) has announced this year’s conservation team awards. Twenty six grants have been awarded in 16 different countries worth a total of $450,000.

This year’s projects form another extremely diverse group ranging from conservation of Slender-snouted Crocodile in Gabon, to surveying and assessing three Red Listed tree species in the Western Ghats of India. This year, for the first time, the CLP will be supporting a project from Antigua and Barbuda.

“These awards have identified 110 young conservation leaders from developing countries early in their careers. They join a global network of more than 2,500 conservationists in the CLP alumni. These people are committed to conservation and improving the state of nature globally”, said Kiragu Mwangi, BirdLife’s CLP Programme Manager.

In addition to funding all participating team members will get the chance to access a wealth of conservation expertise and receive training from within the CLP Partnership.

All award-winning team members will become part of the CLP alumni network that supports approximately 2,500 conservation leaders. The Alumni Network provides ongoing professional development to our emerging leaders and positions them to multiply their impact in the conservation sector.

“Through this programme, we invest in ongoing professional development and mentoring to further build skills and knowledge", said Kiragu.

Alumni members also receive access to additional grants, mentoring from CLP staff and training. A representative from each award-winning team will also take part in CLP's two-week Conservation Leadership & Management Training Workshop in June 2014 at a remote ecological research station in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.

The CLP has supported over 554 projects since the programme’s start in 1985.

The CLP is a unique partnership between BirdLife International, Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International and Wildlife Conservation Society. The mission of the CLP is to advance biodiversity conservation globally by building the leadership capabilities of early-career conservation professionals working in places with limited capacity to address high-priority conservation issues.

Full Project List

Future Conservationist Awards (up to $15,000)

Assessing Extinction Risk of Kenya’s Exploited Coral Reef Fish

Conservation Assessment of Ibadan Malimbe in South-Western Nigeria

Combining Research and Local Community Involvement to Save Lemur in Madagascar